Passport to History II

Explore Wisconsin's history in Marion, WI

In the town of Marion, which is north of Manawa, they have a new museum building which was dedicated in 2009. There is an extensive collection of tools that were previously housed in the Marion Depot. The Marion Depot is an original Chicago Northwestern depot composed of waiting rooms and an office, which are both restored with original furnishings. Half of the depot stores many different items of interest, such as wooden toys from the Schoenhut Toy Co., circa 1910; WWI and WWII memorabilia as well as an extensive collection of memorabilia from the JFK era. A variety of items related to the town of Marion, which merchants gave away as what we now refer to as “promotional items” during the early 1900’s. Postcard photos and handcrafted scale model replicas of the Marion Band Stand, Perry’s Boat and the First National Bank, these items were created by the late Doug Johnson. There is also a Soo Line caboose, it is the last wooden, cupola-style caboose to be retired. There is also a switching station and semaphore on the grounds as well. The Marion Area Historical Society Museums are open every Saturday from Memorial Day until Labor Day 1 to 4 p.m.

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on Thursday, June 30th, 2011 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Manawa Wisconsin.
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